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Pat Boone, Anita Bryant, Connie Francis, Bob Eubanks, Michael Moore ... see more see more... , Roger B. Smith , Ronald Reagan

Michael Moore's wickedly iconoclastic documentary was inspired by the decline and fall of Flint, Michigan. Once the site of a thriving General Motors plant, Flint went quickly to seed when GM decided ... read more read more...to close down and move out. As Moore pokes around what has been described by one magazine as "the worst place to live in America", he finds out how the local populace is coping with GM's betrayal of the American Dream. Among those visited are a family who is evicted just before Christmas, and an enterprising middle-aged woman who set up a thriving business slaughtering and skinning rabbits. Never feigning objectivity, Moore contrasts the impact of the shutdown on the average Joes and Janes with the diffident reaction of Flint's power elite. The latter's patronizing attitude towards the unemployed multitudes is succinctly captured in the scenes in which visiting celebrities Robert Schuller, Anita Bryant, Bobby Vinton and Pat Boone exhort the citizenry to grin and bear it. Even more out of synch is "Miss Michigan" Kaye Lani Rae Rafko, who in her morale-boosting speech to the disenfranchised GM employees begs them to pull for her in the upcoming Miss America pageant! The film's throughline is Moore's futile effort to locate GM chairman Roger Smith, so that he can show Moore first-hand the utter devastation of Flint. Roger & Me is very funny, but it is the gallows humor of soldiers about to embark on a suicide mission. In 1992, Michael Moore more or less updated Roger & Me with his half-hour short subject Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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77% liked it

18,730 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

27 critics

R, 1 hr. 31 min.

Directed by: Michael Moore, Anita Bryant, Bob Eubanks, Pat Boone, Roger B. Smith, Ronald Reagan

Release Date: June 1, 1989

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DVD Release Date: July 5, 2003

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Stats: 865 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (865)

  • LoughnerWasLucid
    July 20, 2011
    LoughnerWasLucid
    Flint truly is one of the scrungiest shit-streaks in the country. one of the reasons for this is that they take the time to form lynch mobs in order to burn copies of magazines that criticize their poodle-vomit stenched fucking town.
  • ajv2688
    April 4, 2011
    ajv2688
    A fantastic documentary from Michael Moore, his hometown is a subject he knows a lot about, but it's more than that really, and I highly recommend this movie, even if you don't like documentaries.
  • Stinger839
    July 24, 2008
    Stinger839
    worth watching for modern Moore fans who can appreciate his humour or for those who want to see less national politics
  • drago25
    April 11, 2008
    drago25
    After pretty much dismissing Michael Moore because I really don't agree with his methods and think he's hell of annoying, I decided to go back to one of his earlier films just because. After all, it's not my contention that Moore is a poor filmmaker - quite the contrary, he's a r... read moreeally talented documentary filmmaker and whether or not you agree with his points or his politics, his films grab your attention. I'm thinking mainly of Bowling For Columbine - after that, I too, like so many others, were swept away thinking this dude really knew his shit and was sticking it to the man. I've changed since then, though, and have come to distrust the way his films are edited in particular. ANYHOW, Roger & Me is a very early film by Moore in which he focuses on the closure of several plants by General Motors in his hometown of Flint, Michigan (the town he rambles on about in every other film, too), and his Moore's futile efforts to meet with the chairman of GM. Watching this film, you really get the impression Moore just might be an egomaniac, because the film focuses to no small degree on him - it even starts out with childhood pictures and films of him, like I care! The other major problem is this. Obviously I don't expect the film to be objective in any way, he has a point he tries to make from his point of view. Which is something about the soul-lessness of the corporate entity for eliminating 30,000 jobs, moving the plants to Mexico (where the cars can be made much cheaper), and indirectly causing a lot of hardship and poverty. The issue is that some of the people interviewed who Moore places on the "evil" side of the argument (the corporation) make much more valid points than Moore does. Especially one GM representative in particular who is shown repeatedly. Moore obviously attempts to demonize him - but the whole time he's making perfectly valid, intelligent points to the effect that corporations are require by law and by their stockholders to maximize profit and not consider what effect its actions might have. This is how the corporation has worked since the beginning, it's just the way it is, so to try to demonize the corporation's representatives when they're doing what they are required to do, as it has been set out by law, is essentially pointless. This was really an unforgivable flaw to the film - if the main point of your completely objective documentary film has little to no validity, it doesn't help the effectiveness of the film. Obviously this was a very biased review, but I figure it's okay for a film by an incredibly biased (and obnoxious) filmmaker.
  • BlueTorch
    April 5, 2006
    BlueTorch
    Michael Moore's first documentary; I found it lacking in focus. Michael Moore would perfect his technique in later films; this feels more like a 'test run', and a little bit ridiculous at times. Still, there are shades of Moore's ingenuity and vision.
  • sportsphenom1
    July 29, 2009
    sportsphenom1
    Moore is always good sensationalizing the material by focusing the subject in the spotlight and putting it on the "spot". There's not much here I didn't already know, except for more of an intimate knowledge of Moore's background and of Flint, Michigan. But for most people, there... read more might be a lot of "food for thought" in this corporate exposing documentary. In the end, it's sort of hard to feel sorry for people that have to "lie in their bed after they've made it", so to speak. Generally, people only get fire in their belly when times get rough for them personally. Nevertheless, for a more thorough and interesting investigation of GM and their mischievous ways, see "Who Killed the Electric Car?"
  • trisarahtops22
    November 20, 2008
    trisarahtops22
    It was interesting having watched all of Michael Moore's more recent films, then going back and watching this last. He had humble beginnings, but he is a great documentarian and this early movie is no exception!
  • cacutshaw
    February 8, 2008
    cacutshaw
    When this came out it was one of the most exciting docs I had seen. It was great to see a doc that dealt with important issues while being constantly funny and entertaining. Granted, I'm sick to death of the "editorial" doc where the filmmaker feels compelled to add himself to ... read morethe mix now, but back in the day this was very refreshing.
  • FanGirl
    March 26, 2007
    FanGirl
    I love Michael Moore always standing up for the normal people, the union worker etc. We need more people like him.
  • nlitton
    July 23, 2006
    nlitton
    Not his most entertaining movie, but its a interesting perspective on what happens due to globalization. I tend not to agree with him and his tactics because they don't show results.

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Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy
October 20, 2006
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Despite some tempering with the chronological sequence of events, this is a scathingly biting satire of Reagonomics that captures the zeitgeist of the late 1980s much more poignantly than most Hollywo... Full Review

Alex Sandell
June 22, 2005
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum

Effective.

Jon Niccum
December 3, 2004
Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World

Entertaining but overpraised first effort from Moore

Steve Crum
October 15, 2004
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan

the first of Moore's already legendary documentaries.

MaryAnn Johanson
October 28, 2003
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher

brilliant and subversive

Mark Robison
September 18, 2003
Mark Robison, Reno Gazette-Journal

So many classic bits.

Christopher Null
August 8, 2003
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

Regardless of Moore's conceitedness and simple-mindedness, he still makes a good movie, and without inventing so many facts as he did with Bowling for Columbine. Full Review

Ryan Cracknell
July 30, 2003
Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views

While not as good as Bowling for Columbine, Roger and Me does show delirious hints of what was yet to come. Full Review

Pablo Villaca
April 13, 2003
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

Nem todos os argumentos de Michael Moore são válidos como ele gostaria, mas o filme cumpre seu objetivo ao analisar a decadência de uma cidade em função da ganância de uma grande empresa.

John A. Nesbit
November 7, 2002
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews

demonstrates that this genré can be as hilarious as any comedy on the market and provide some sharp political muckraking to boot. Full Review

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  • Which is the set of lyrics Jessica Rabbit sings in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?  Answer »
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  • This is a correction to a question How many actors played James Bond? you chose: A. 6 Incorrect 0 pts A. 6 B. 7 C. 8 The right answer is 6! Geoarge Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore, Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig  Answer »
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